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SYDNEY, Jan 29 AAP

January 29 2013, 07:53AM

The peak tourism lobby group has called for flights into and out of Sydney airport to be increased to meet Australia's growing aviation demands.

A report by the Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) also proposes increasing the use of Bankstown and Newcastle airports, and committing to Badgerys Creek for Sydney's secondary airport.

Sydney's Aviation Future: Meeting the Challenge of Growing Demand flags several options to manage what the TTF says is a rising demand for flights to and from Sydney.

"The number of people flying to and from Sydney is forecast to double over the next twenty years and continue to grow beyond that time, and we simply cannot afford to put off the hard decisions any longer without having a serious impact on the NSW economy," TTF chief executive John Lee said in a statement on Tuesday.

"In the short term, the priority must be to maximise the efficient use of Sydney Airport, including lifting the cap and slot allocations from 80 to 90 movements per hour,", he said.

Priority should be given to using quieter aircraft now available for those additional flight allocations.

In the medium term, Newcastle and Bankstown airports should provide additional capacity for the Sydney region, the report proposes.

However, Mr Lee said these measures would not be sufficient to negate the need for a secondary Sydney airport.

"We are calling on both sides of politics to commit to using the federal government-owned land at Badgerys Creek as the site of Sydney's secondary airport," he said.